Ragi Ginger Cookies - Healthy Ginger Cookies

Ragi, flaxseed, jaggery, ginger, sesame seeds - you might wonder what these utterly healthy ingredients are doing in a cookie! You might even think it's a complete madhouse of an idea. Ragi / nachni / mandwa / finger millets have been an Indian superfood well before everyone and their uncle started pestering relatives abroad to get them boatloads of quinoa for their daily consumption instead of rice. India, being the world's largest producer of millets, it's high time we showed some respect for our own grains, rather than scrambling after every latest food trend in the world. Ragi, like most other millets, formed a part of prehistoric Indian meals, then completely ignored and considered downmarket in the years that followed, where the rich ate rice, and now slowly the awareness of these prehistoric grains as being nutritional powerhouses is coming back. 

For those who haven't tasted ragi flour, it does have a coarse texture and wont feel as smooth as a refined flour in your mouth. The coarseness comes from the fiber content in ragi. Among all millets, ragi has the highest calcium content (370mg/100g). Its calcium content is nearly 10 times that of wheat (41mg/100g) and 35 times that of rice (10mg/100g). 

Sesame seeds, not only make these cookies look pretty, they are also rich in calcium and good fats, and with flaxseeds rich in omega-3, this is one uber-healthy recipe, perfect for your kid's lunch box treat or with your afternoon cup of tea. If you've baked cookies using traditional cookie recipes, you'd know that most of them call for 1-2 sticks of butter, upto 250 grams! Here, you get 20 biscuits with just 3 tbsp butter. You can, by all means, try substituting butter with ghee, for a richer, deeper flavour. 



Regarding flaxseeds, their nutrients are only absorbed if the seeds are powdered. You get powdered flaxseed in several supermarkets (Nilgiri's in Bangalore) and health food stores. If you don't find them, get the whole seeds, lightly toast 100 grams flaxseeds and powder it in the mixer. Keep in airtight container in the fridge. 

Recipe for Ragi - Ginger Biscuits
Makes 20
Time taken - Under 30 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup ragi flour
1/2 cup maida
2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tsp powdered jaggery
1/2 cup crystal sugar
2 tsp flaxseed powder
1 tsp dried ginger powder (sonth powder)
1/2 tsp finely grated ginger*
1/2 tsp chai masala or 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3-4 tbsp cold milk
1 tbsp black sesame seeds + 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (or entirely white)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 180 C.
2. Keep a baking tray ready, lined with silicone mat or a greased tin foil or parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except butter and milk, until well combined.
4. Add the butter pieces and with finger tips rub the mixture together until it feels like bread crumbs
5. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time and knead gently till it comes together like a dough. 
6. Divide into 20 equal balls, rolling each between lightly greased palms. Gently press each ball on the sesame seeds laid out on a plate, only on one side and place the flattened ball, sesame seeds side up, on the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie, for they'll expand.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C until the tops are browned. Cool and store in air tight container.

Tip
*To get finely grated ginger for salad dressings, tea and ginger cookies, store the cleaned ginger roots in a ziploc bag in the freezer. They stay forever, don't get soggy and when grated, give finely powdered fresh ginger. 

When we got grilling at Weber & Neetha's recipe for the best pizza ever

Bangalore weather, an open terrace and a grill when put together, the possibility of fun times are endless and that's what we were shown at the Independence Day celebration grilling workshop at the Weber Experience Center. 

My kinda play-doh :D

I 'grill' stuff in the oven, on the stove top grill pan, but grilling on an actual grill is a different ball game altogether. Lighting the charcoal, getting the grill to optimum temperature, where to position the food on the grill, how to clean the grill, safety precautions, there's a lot to understand and learn about this cooking technique.

The kitchen all set before the workshop

The fun part is grilling is not just about steaks or paneer tikkas. You can make delicious grilled pizzas, roast a whole chicken (or any other bird you fancy) and even make an apple pie on a grill. Once you know how to make the grill work for you, the possibilities are endless. 

Charcoal ready to be put into the grill

Our cooking instructor, Neetha and the grill expert, Shiva were our teachers for the afternoon. We started with some of the basics like how to fire up the grill, safety mechanisms etc. Weber not only sells grills but also everything you need for grilling such as uniformly shaped charcoal made from coconut fibre, the cakes to light the grill with just a matchstick, the steel wool grill cleaners and so on. Armed with a few of these accessories, it seemed like quite a breeze to light, cook and clean up. 

Pizzas going into the grill

We started by making the pizza dough - a regular one and a multigrain base with flaxseeds (which I loved). Neetha also showed us how to make a cheese burst pizza, which most of the participants were happy to upgrade their pizza to, but their wait to get their pizza out of the grill was somewhat longer than us regular pizza folks, as a thick pizza takes longer to get done. There was also a whole roast chicken with delicious mushroom stuffing, I could almost eat the stuffing raw, it was that good. 

One of the show stoppers of the session was the paneer & veggie skewers. Big chunks of paneer, squares of bell peppers in all colours and mushrooms, marinated in a special mix of spices, skewered and grilled to perfection, these were absolutely divine. 

Apple pie-fresh off the grill

The other show stopper of which we could not stop taking pictures were the apple pies made on the grill. The tops turned stunningly golden brown and glossy and insides were melt in your mouth. The others also made a chicken skewers sizzler with barbecue sauce. By this time, so much food had been consumed inhaled  eaten that the choco lava cakes which were the last thing on the menu had to be looked at with 'sorry-i'm-too-full' eyes!

Top 4 tips about grilling

1. Add the fat / oil to the marinade to the food and not on the grill. This will ensure food does not stick to the grill and it gets a nice golden colour on grilling.
2. Wait for the grill to heat up to the required temperature before placing the food, or it will stick to the grill.
3. Foods that need to be cooked over longer period like a whole roast chicken or apple pie need to be placed away from the hot charcoal and not on top of it. This is indirect grilling. Foods like vegetables, paneer etc which get cooked in no time, they can be kept on the grill directly over where the charcoal is burning- this is direct grilling. 
4. Do not keep opening the covering lid to check the progress of the grilling. Each time you open the cover, the temperature drops and takes time to come back to the optimum temperature, resulting in a longer time taken to get the food cooked / grilled.

Grilling workshops at Weber (Bangalore) There are 3 kinds of workshops conducted at the Weber Experience Center. The basics of grilling which is free for all, an intermediate and an advanced session. Complete details available here. It's also a fun quality time for couples to learn grilling together.For regular updates on workshops, you could follow them on Facebook here.

I'm sharing with you Neetha's pizza recipe, which I made the following day at home and it turned out to be the best pizza I've made in ages.

For the multigrain base 

Makes 3 medium pizzas (medium thickness crust)

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp instant (or active dry) yeast or 2 1/2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp flaxseed powder (grind flaxseeds to a coarse powder in the chutney jar)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp olive oil

For pizza sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

200 g tomato puree (tetrapack is fine)

1 tsp chilli flakes (or less)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp dried herbs of choice (basil, oregano)

1 tsp sugar (the recipe says 2 tsp, but it was a tad too sweet)

1/2 tsp salt

For base:

In a large bowl, mix the water, sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 mins until frothy. This means that the yeast is active. Add the flours, flaxseed, milk, salt and knead until it comes together. Add the olive oil and knead till the dough is smooth (around 5 minutes). Cover and keep aside until doubled in volume. This could take 30 mins-1 hour depending on the weather.

Divide into 3 or 4 balls and keep aside.

For sauce:

Heat the oil, saute the garlic and onions until soft (around 3-5 mins), do not brown the onions. Add all remaining ingredients, and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove into a bowl and keep aside. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate in air tight container.

Keep the toppings of your choice and mozzarella cheese ready.

Preheat the grill to around 200C / oven to 180C.

Grease a large square of tin foil with olive oil. Place the ball of dough and with fingers stretch it out by pressing, into 7-8" diameter circle. Brush with oil and allow this to rest for 5 minutes. Spread the pizza sauce (2 tbsp) evenly over this. Top with cheese (sliced or grated) and then with the toppings of your choice (olives, jalapenos, bell pepper, onions etc.). Bake for 25 minutes at 180C or grill for 10-15 mins (not directly over the coals), add more time for a stuffed (cheese burst) pizza.

Cut into wedges and eat immediately.

I'd like to thank Weber India for inviting me to this very useful and fun workshop.

Eating out in Bangalore: Karavalli - A trip down the West Coast

"Karavalli has been around in Bangalore for the last 23 years with 80% of the menu remaining the same from the times the restaurant started"says Executive Chef Naren Thimmaiah. He has every reason to be proud. Any restaurant staying around a city's food scene for so long speaks volumes about its good food and service.

Chef Thimmaiah

Some of us were invited to sample the new additions to the Karavalli menu. The new menu aims to cover a few more regions along the West coast of India, which weren't represented adequately in their menu earlier. They've also added an outdoors grilling section where there's a variety of fresh fish & seafood along with a selection of marinades which you can choose from, making it a seafood lover's delight.

There's a slight modification to the lunch menu too, the number of dishes have been reduced to the regularly ordered popular ones and there's a typical South Indian lunch box 'set' in which lunch is served.

Captivating colours of the chutneys

The evening started with some of the bloggers getting behind the burners under the chef's guidance and grilling the marinated fish two ways, one of them being the black pomfret grilled in banana leaf pockets. I love this technique of grilling food wrapped in banana leaves. It makes sure the food doesn't get over grilled, and the leaves impart a delicate flavour to the food wrapped in it.

The vegetarians were served three kinds of starters. The Kaju Kothimbir Vadi (cashew and coriander seeds dipped in batter and deep fried until crunchy and golden) was seriously addictive. My favourite was the Pachakai Varuthathu (Plantain slices coated in spices and deep fried). It was seasoned just right and when paired with the three chutneys on the table, it tasted even better. The other dish was Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi, which I'm told is a Tulu community specialty. This tongue twister of a name is nothing but steamed rice dumplings tossed with a tempering of cumin, mustard seeds and spiced with curry powder and topped with coconut. We usually make these with the left overs of the rice dough used to make 'kozhakattai' or modaks. Personally, I prefer the Tambrahm version better, plus this is more of a tiffin item than a starter.

The mains

The mains were dedicated to wood fired dishes cooked in clay pots. There was a spicy seerfish curry and a South Canara lamb curry. Us vegetarians had a Kadala Gassi, which is the black chana cooked in South Canara style, where the gravy is made from roasted spices and coconut. My favourite here was the 'Havyaka' style Preserved Mango Curry, this was similar to the Mango Moar Kozhambu we make, but using preserved mango instead of fresh. [Read more about Havyaka cuisine here] I prefer the fresh mangoes in this preparation, but the curry flavours were really mouthwatering. The curries were served with a choice of Malabar Paratha, Aapam, Idiappam or Kuttanad Boiled rice, which is the red rice from Kerala.

Desserts

The desserts were a unique mix of flavours, perfectly paired with each other. The sharp, tanginess of the tamarind ice cream, to the rich yolky - nutmeg intense taste of the Bebinca and the burst of sweetness from the jaggery of the Ada Pradhaman. The tamarind ice cream is the chef's own creation. After tasting the black sesame ice cream in Hong Kong, the wasabi ice cream at a local Asian restaurant, it was lovely to try out an ice cream made using a very Indian ingredient like Tamarind. The bebinca is a multi-layered 'cake' made in Goa and Ada Pradhaman, of course is a Kerala sweet-dish made for all festive occasions.

It was a lovely evening, sitting outdoors, aromas of food wafting around us and sated with some good food and conversations. Chef Thimmaiah was a pleasure to interact with and discuss all things food with us foodbloggers. The only thing missing was a warm shawl around my shoulders as the even turned really chilly.

The outdoor section, softly lit is quite perfect for a romantic evening. Even better if you are a seafood lover.

Karavalli
66, Ground floor, The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road.
Phone: 080-66604545


[Pictures courtesy: Saina Jayapal - Pixel Platters]